:  STACK 
\MNEX 


JNG    LIBRARIANS:    A] 
DTHER  PAPERS. 

,     ,/.   MUNRO   MACKENZIE, 
ub-Librarian,   Aberdeen   Public 
Library. 


T7OUNG    LIBRARIANS:    AND 
1      OTHER  PAPERS. 

By  W.  MUNRO  MACKENZIE, 
Sub- Librarian,  Aberdeen  Public 
Library. 


CONTENTS. 


YOUNG     LIBRARIANS,     reprinted     from     "Wigan    Observer,'1 
July  7th,  1900. 

A  WIGAN  POET,  JOHN  CRETCHLEY  PRINCE,  reprinted  from 
"  Wigan  Public  Library  Quarterly  Record,"  1900. 

CROMWELLIAN  and  NAPOLEONIC  LITERATURE,  reprinted  from 
"Wigan  Public  Library  Quarterly  Record,"  1901. 

OLIVER  CROMWELL  :  a  brief  sketch.      Reprinted  from  "  Round 
the  Churches,"  1900. 


• 


2073740 


YOUNG    LIBRARIANS. 


IT  is  interesting  to  notice  the  growing  importance,  day 
by  day,  of  the  place  in  society  of  Free  Public  Lib- 
raries. Although  public  libraries  are  comparatively  of 
modern  growth,  the  town  that  cannot  boast  of  possessing 
one  is,  even  now,  distinctly  behind  the  times.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  the  spread  of  education  to  all  classes  has 
had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  this  imperative  demand  on 
the  part  of  the  people  for  free  literature.  But  it  is  not 
the  intention  here  to  deal  with  public  libraries,  but  rather 
with  the  public  librarian,  and  to  see  what  benefit  to  the 
general  reader  can  be  derived  from  instruction  given  by 
master  librarians,  to  those  who  are  to  follow  in  their 
steps. 

The  lectures  delivered  on  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and 
Friday  of  last  week,  at  the  summer  meeting  for  Library 
Assistants  connected  with  the  North-Western  Branch  of 
the  Library  Association,  were  of  a  very  interesting  order. 
The  session  was  opened  by  Mr.  Henry  Guppy  (joint 
librarian  of  the  famous  John  Rylands  Library,  Man- 
chester), who  gave  the  lecture  entitled  "  What  is  Biblio- 
graphy ? "  To  the  amateur  bibliophile,  or  book-lover,  as 
well  as  to  the  ordinary  reader,  this  lecture  was  full  of 
useful  advice.  Quoting  Dr.  Graesel,  the  German 
scholar's  description  of  the  three  principal  qualifications 
of  a  librarian  as  ( i )  the  love  of  order,  (2)  the  love  of  work, 
(3)  amiability,  he  said  Dr.  Graesel  had  disregarded  the 
most  important  qualification  of  all,  the  love  of  books. 
The  man,  indeed,  who  lacked  this  last  qualification,  which 
was  in  fact  the  first  requisite,  had  better  withdraw  from 
the  supervision  or  care  of  books.  With  regard  to  the 
kind  of  books  the  librarian  should  read,  Mr.  Guppy 


2  YOUNG   LIBRARIANS 

quoted  the  Bishop  of  London's  address  to  librarians, 
when  he  laid  stress  on  the  necessity  of  thoroughly 
familiarising  themselves  with  history,  and  also  acquiring 
a  good  working  knowledge  of  all  the  departments  of  litera- 
ture and  science,  not  only  such  a  smattering  as  might 
have  been  acquired  at  school  or  college,  but  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  progress  and  development  of  knowledge  in 
all  its  branches,  keeping  abreast  of  the  times,  so  that 
they  might  be  able  to  give  not  only  the  titles  of  the 
newest  and  best  books,  but  discuss  intelligently  the  new 
theories  advanced,  and  estimate  rightly  the  importance 
of  additions.  Surely  these  requisitions  to  knowledge 
all  men  should,  to  a  certain  extent,  endeavour  to  acquire, 
in  order  that  the  ratepayer  may  earn  his  true  name  of 
citizen,  rather  than  the  one  which  is  so  often  thrown  at 
him — namely,  "  the  man  in  the  street."  After  going 
more  fully  into  the  question  of  reading,  the  lecturer  con- 
cluded that  part  of  his  lecture  by  a  fine  quotation 
from  Gilfillan,  who  said  "  Let  us  read  thoughtfully,  not 
lazily  so  as  to  mumble  the  words  of  the  author ;  not 
slavishly  to  assent  to  his  every  word,  and  cry  '  Amen  ' 
to  his  every  conclusion ;  but  to  read  him  with  suspicion 
and  enquiry,  not  with  the  wonder  of  ignorance.  Con- 
tinuing, Mr.  Guppy  pointed  out  that  the  wise  student 
despises  nothing,  but  is  constantly  collecting  materials 
from  all  sources  in  order  to  widen  the  horizon  of  his 
mental  outlook.  If  they  would  have  a  bright  and  clean 
instrument  ready  to  their  hands,  they  must  be  diligent 
gleaners  of  inconsiderable  trifles — fragments  of  knowledge, 
each  perhaps  insignificant  in  itself,  but  capable  of  leading 
in  the  aggregate  to  results  of  great  interest  and  importance. 
Mr.  Robert  Gladstone,  jun.,  M.A.,  B.C.L.,  (a  relation 
of  the  late  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone)  commenced 


YOUNG   LIBRARIANS  3 

the  second  day's  proceedings  by  delivering  a  brilliant 
lecture  on  "  Some  of  the  great  English  Works  of 
Historical  Reference."  He  laid  emphasis  on  the  prac- 
tical value  of  history,  showing  how  its  lessons  enabled 
us  to  deal  with  great  questions  of  reform  now  in  course 
of  debate  and  settlement.  What  was  needed  to-day, 
above  all  things,  was  that  things  should  be  looked  upon 
more  in  a  historical  way.  A  knowledge  of  history  was 
essential  to  everyone  who  wished  to  understand  the 
course  of  events,  but  the  question  arose  as  to  the  writers 
to  be  relied  upon.  Gardiner  and  Mullinger's  "  Introduc- 
tion to  English  History"  was  a  most  important  work, 
and  should  be  carefully  studied,  especially  the  latter 
portion  by  Professor  Mullinger.  The  lecturer  urged 
students  of  English  history  to  take  full  advantage  of  the 
different  series  of  records  that  have  been,  and  are 
being  published — the  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  the 
Rolls  Series,  and  the  publications  of  the  Historical 
Manuscripts  Commission.  In  the  Calendar  of  State 
Papers  was  to  be  found,  chiefly,  political  matter  and 
state  documents,  while  the  Rolls  Series  dealt  with  the 
Monastic  Records  and  Chronicles.  The  Historical 
Manuscripts  Commission  had  done  splendid  work  in 
unearthing  from  the  papers  and  documents  of  great 
historical  families,  much  material  which  sheds  strong 
life  on  the  social,  political,  and  religious  life  of  the 
English  people,  at  various  periods.  Mr.  Gladstone, 
remarking  on  the  way  these  records  ought  to  be  used, 
said  that  the  best  key  to  their  contents  was  to  be  found 
in  the  Wigan  Reference  Library  Catalogue,  compiled  by 
Mr.  Folkard,  the  Librarian.  Although  these  records 
were  valuable  for  getting  at  the  origins  of  English 
history,  a  study  of  the  Statutes  was  of  the  first  im- 


4  YOUNG   LIBRARIANS 

portance  in  a  right  interpretation  of  English  history. 
The  works  of  Gardiner,  Green,  Froude,  Stubbs,  Hallam, 
Kemble,  and  Pearson,  should  be  studied,  but  the  closest 
attention  should  be  given  to  Flaherty's  History  of 
England,  Parry's  Parliaments  of  England,  and  Nicolas's 
Chronology  of  History,  these  being  three  concise  and 
admirably  planned  books.  The  little  work  by  Acland 
and  Ransome  on  the  "  Political  History  of  England,"  an 
outline  to  1881,  was  an  excellent  book  for  ready  refer- 
ence. Dealing  with  later  historians,  the  lecturer  warned 
students  from  putting  too  much  confidence  in  Froude,  as 
he  sometimes  sacrificed  accuracy  of  detail  to  fluency  of 
style.  Samuel  Rawson  Gardiner,  he  said,  was  the  most 
trustworthy  historian  we  had  to-day,  his  works  on  the 
history  of  the  early  Stuart  troubles  being  very  excellent. 
With  regard  to  Constitutional  History  (upon  which 
subject  the  lecturer  thought  more  humbug  had  been 
written  than  on  any  other)  the  work  by  Stubbs  was 
amongst  the  best,  although  his  volumes  were  far  from 
being  faultless. 

In  the  afternoon  a  visit  was  paid  to  Knowsley  Hall, 
the  seat  of  the  Earls  of  Derby.  To  most  people  this 
family  is  only  familiar  as  being  the  initiators  of  the 
famous  annual  races,  the  "  Derby  and  the  "  Oaks." 
But  though  they  have  played  a  great  part  in  encourag- 
ing and  developing  sport,  they  have  not  neglected  the 
realms  of  literature,  but  have,  after  many  years,  brought 
together  one  of  the  finest  private  collections  of  books  in 
the  country.  There  are  many  rare  manuscripts  and 
valuable  early  printed  books,  as  well  as  some  fine 
specimens  of  English  and  foreign  book-binding,  to  be 
found  here.  But  perhaps  the  chief  interest  during  this 
visit  was  centered  in  the  Bagfordised  and  Grangerised 


YOUNG   LIBRARIANS  5 

books,  of  which  this  library  can  boast  a  precious  collec- 
tion. As  these  works  were  being  inspected,  Mr.  Shaw, 
master  and  librarian  of  the  Athenaem  Library,  Liverpool, 
explained  the  work  of  John  Bagford  and  James  Granger. 
The  place  of  these  two  men  in  the  opinion  of  bookmen 
is  not  a  very  enviable  one.  Bagford  is  famous  as  the 
great  mutilator  of  books,  though  not  without  a  purpose. 
Born  in  1650,  he  became  a  shoemaker,  and  afterwards 
collected  books  on  commission,  and  took  it  into  his  head 
to  write  a  history  of  printing.  He  collected  title  pages, 
leaves,  colophons,  initial  letters,  covers,  bosses,  and 
clasps,  and  this  collection  of  64  folio  volumes,  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  contained  25,000  title  pages.  He 
never  wrote  the  contemplated  history  so  that  when  we 
saw  in  catalogues  of  old  books  such  phrases  as  "wanting 
title,"  "wanting  last  page,"  we  might  be  sure  the 
Bagfordiser  had  been  at  work.  On  this  practice  Mr. 
Shaw  passed  a  sweeping  condemnation.  Continuing,  he 
said  it  was  almost  impossible  to  calculate  the  damage 
done  to  books  by  the  devotees  of  "  Grangerising."  To 
Grangerise  a  book  meant  to  insert  in  a  book  a  plate  or 
an  illustration  (from  some  other  work)  which  would 
illustrate  the  text.  This  practice  was  carried  to  such  an 
extreme  that  collectors  were  not  satisfied  until  they  had 
gathered  from  any  book  no  matter  how  rare  or  valuable 
(if  their  purse  could  support  it)  an  illustration  or  a 
portrait  that  related  to  the  life  and  surroundings  of  their 
favourite  authors.  If,  for  instance,  a  favourite  author 
referred  in  his  works  to  bees,  or  flowers,  or  certain 
places,  the  Grangeriser  would  forthwith  make  a  minute 
collection  of  matter  and  illustrations  relating  to  bees  and 
flowers  and  places  mentioned.  In  the  British  Museum 
there  was  an  illustrated  copy  of  Pennant's  "  London," 


6  YOUNG   LIBRARIANS 

which  cost  its  maker  .£7,500.  Mr.  Shaw  said  he  only 
objected  to  the  craze  where  one  book  was  rendered 
incomplete  in  order  to  add  to  another  unnecessarily. 

It  would  be  hardly  proper  in  leaving  this  sketch  of 
Knowsley  Hall  not  to  make  the  observation,  that  if  the 
Derby  family  figure  strongly  in  sport  and  literature,  they 
also  appear  as  important  characters  in  England's  history, 
and  especially  in  Wigan's  history.  Was  it  not  the  Earl 
of  Derby  who,  during  the  Civil  War,  opposed  the 
Parliamentary  forces,  and  after  many  disastrous  engage- 
ments at  various  times,  in  and  around  Wigan,  was  forced 
to  acknowledge  defeat  and  flee,  hiding  in  the  Old  Dog 
Inn,  Millgate,  and  escaping  through  the  then  ruined 
town  wall  ;  but  who  in  the  end  was  captured  and 
executed  at  Bolton  in  1651  ?  The  chair  on  which  the 
Earl  of  Derby  sat  just  previous  to  execution  is  in  the 
possession  (rather  a  sad  relic)  of  the  family.  William, 
the  sixth  Early  of  Derby,  was  Mayor  of  Wigan  for  the 
year  1618.  The  meeting  closed  on  Friday  after  two 
useful  lectures  on  Library  Administration,  by  Mr.  P. 
Cowell,  principal  librarian  of  the  Liverpool  Public 
Libraries. 


A  WIGAN   POET:   JOHN  CRITCHLEY 
PRINCE. 

I. 

HP  HE  career  of  John  Critchley  Prince  forms  one  of 
1  those  pathetic  life  stories  so  often  characteristic  of 
men  of  genius.  In  Prince's  life  there  is  much  to  attract 
and  much  to  repell ;  but  taken  in  its  entirety  it  forms  a 
remarkable  example  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  a 
gifted  man  in  the  most  adverse  circumstances.  The 
human  side  of  Prince's  career  presents  much  that  reminds 
one  of  the  poet  Burns,  though  no  intellectual  parallel 
can  be  drawn  between  the  two  characters.  Both  were 
poets  born  and  not  made  ;  but  whereas  Burns  can  claim 
a  high  place  in  the  roll  of  national  bards,  Prince  has 
earned  for  himself  no  more  than  a  provincial  poet's  fame. 
But  if  grave  doubt  may  be  cast  upon  his  work  deserving 
national  remembrance,  he  may  be  welcomed  as  a  genius 
who  first  saw  the  light  in  Wigan. 

John  Critchley  Prince  was  born  on  the  2ist  of  June, 
1808.  It  is  said  that  his  birthplace  was  in  Coppull  Lane 
or  Bottling  Wood,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town, 
standing  off  Wigan  Lane  ;  but  no  conclusive  evidence 
has,  as  yet,  been  brought  forward  to  prove  the  supposi- 
tion. That  his  boyhood  was  spent  in  this  neighbourhood, 
however,  is  most  probable,  for  we  are  told  by  the  poet's 
friend,  Mr.  Mandley,  that  he  attended  the  Baptist  Sunday 
School ;  and  the  only  school  in  Wigan,  at  the  time,  be- 
longing to  that  Church,  was  in  Lord  Street,  close  by 
Prince's  supposed  home.  His  father,  a  reedmaker  for 
weavers,  was  a  drunken  and  cruel  man,  whose  dissipa- 
tions kept  the  family  in  constant  poverty. 

The  boy  Prince  was  set  to  work  at  reedmaking  with 
his  father  when  nine  years  old.  He  had  received  no 


8  A  WIGAN    POET 

education  other  than  being  taught  to  read  (and  that  im- 
perfectly) at  the  Sunday  School,  and  the  instructions  he 
could  gain  from  his  mother — an  intelligent  and  industrious 
woman.  He  very  early,  however,  showed  a  passion  for 
reading,  and  though  his  father  forbade  him  books,  and 
thrashed  him  if  he  found  him  with  one,  any  story  or 
volume  of  poetry  which  he  could  procure  was  eagerly 
devoured.  Often  during  the  night  when  the  house  was 
quiet  and  all  the  family  asleep,  he  would  creep  downstairs, 
take  from  its  hiding-place  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  by  the 
light  of  the  "  slacked "  fire,  revel  in  the  charms  of 
"  Robinson  Crusoe  "  and  other  wondrous  characters  ever 
of  delight  to  boys.  Of  this  period  he  speaks  in  one  of 
his  poems l : — 

With  none  to  strengthen  or  to  teach  my  mind, 
I  groped  my  way  like  someone,  lost  and  blind, 

Within  the  windings  of  a  tangled  wood ; 
But  still  by  wakeful  and  enquiring  thought, 
My  watchful  spirit  in  its  musings,  caught 

A  partial  glance  of  what  was  true  and  good. 

Thinking  to  better  their  condition,  the  Princes,  in  1821, 
removed  to  Manchester.  John  was  now  thirteen  years 
old,  with  four  years'  experience  in  the  wearisome  busi- 
ness of  reedmaking. 

This  move  of  his  parents,  though  perhaps  giving  the 
boy  greater  facilities  for  indulging  in  his  favourite  pursuit, 
did  not  make  his  lot  easier.  Trade  did  not  improve,  and 
the  Princes  were  poorer  than  ever.  The  boy's  character, 
however,  was  superior  to  his  surroundings  ;  his  sanguine 
temperament  became  the  guardian  of  his  muse.  About  this 
time  he  obtained  a  copy  of  the  works  of  Lord  Byron,  which 

JToJ.  P.  Westhead,  Esq. 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY   PRINCE  9 

he  read  and  re-read  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  "  His 
mind,"  as  Mr.  Mandley  says,  "  had  now  met  with  its 
natural  aliment."  Though  this  was  not  Prince's  first 
introduction  to  poetry,  he  had  never  before  come  into  the 
full  presence  of  the  power  of  one  of  Britain's  greatest 
bards.  The  strains  of  the  noble  poet  awoke  a  kindred 
response  in  the  breast  of  the  obscure  and  humble  boy, 
who  from  that  moment  became  a  worshipper  at  the  fane 
of  the  Muses."1  He  found  in  the  study  of  the  English 
poets  the  best  solace  in  his  lonely  hours.  Thomson  and 
Goldsmith  became  his  especial  favourites,  on  account,  no 
doubt,  of  the  exquisite  descriptions  of  nature  and  country 
life  in  their  works.  Prince's  love  for  nature  appears  in 
nearly  all  his  poems,  but  in  none  so  strongly  as  "  The 
Poet's  Sabbath,"  where  he  exclaims — 

The  voice  of  Nature  is  a  voice  of  power, 
More  eloquent  than  mortal  lips  can  make ; 
And  even  now  in  this  most  solemn  hour, 
She  bids  my  noblest  sympathies  awake. 
Nature !  I  love  all  creatures  for  thy  sake, 
But  chiefly  man,  who  is  estranged  from  thee ! 
Oh  !  would  that  he  would  turn  from  strife  and  take 
Sweet  lessons  from  thy  lore,  and  learn  to  be 
Submissive  to  thy  laws,  wise,  happy,  good,  and  free ! 

As  the  thoughtful  boy  grew  up  into  the  studious 
youth,  the  misery  in  his  father's  house  oppressed  him 
more  and  more,  and  he  determined  to  have  a  home  of 
his  own  as  soon  as  possible.  Force  of  circumstances  had 
compelled  the  family  to  remove  to  Hyde,  in  Cheshire, 
where  John  fell  in  love  with  a  pretty  girl  of  the  name  of 
Orme,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  the  latter  end  of  1826 

1  Mandley  (George  Frederick)  Biographical  sketch  of  Prince.  "In  Hours  with 
the  Muses."  1841. 


10  A   WIGAN    POET  : 

or  early  in  1827,  while  yet  under  nineteen  years  of  age. 
If  this  step  was  a  source  of  happiness  to  the  young  man, 
plenty  was  not  its  fruit.  The  young  people  had  a 
hard  fight  for  mere  maintainance,  but  they  struggled 
on  for  three  years.  Prince  was  now  an  occasional  con- 
tributor to  "The  Phcenix,"  a  Manchester  magazine,  and 
other  periodicals.  His  first  verses  were  written  in  1827, 
and  though  they  cannot  be  ranked  with  his  best  poetry, 
the  following  lines  from  "  The  Soldier  of  Progress  "  make 
an  excellent  maiden  effort — 

Come  forth,  thrice-tempered  steel  of  Truth, 

And  thou,  stern  virtue,  lend  thy  shield, 
Immortal  Freedom,  strong  in  youth, 

Equip  me  for  the  field ; 
Buckle  thy  corslet  on  my  breast, 
Set  thy  unshivered  lance  in  rest, 

Lend  all  thy  panoply  to-day ; 
Plant  thy  bright  casket  on  my  brow, 
Crown  me  with  snowy  plumes — Ah  !  now 

I'm  ready  for  the  fray. 

In  1830  reports  were  circulated  that  reedmakers  were 
in  great  demand  in  France,  and  Prince  determined  to  go 
and  try  his  fortune.  Leaving  his  wife  (a  loom  weaver) 
and  three  children  behind,  he  set  off  in  the  most  hopeful 
frame  of  mind,  but  arrived  in  London  to  learn  that  the 
Revolution  (of  1830)  had  broken  out  across  the  water. 
He  determined,  however,  to  proceed,  thinking  the  ominous 
reports  exaggerated.  After  much  discouragement  he 
reached  St.  Quentin,  in  Picardy,  where  he  had  expected 
to  find  plenty  work.  But  recent  events  had  paralysed 
trade,  and  consequently  he  was  not  wanted.  Though 
bitterly  disappointed  he  did  not  give  up  his  adventure, 
but  set  off  for  Mulhausen,  an  important  manufacturing 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY   PRINCE  tl 

town  in  Alsace,  staying  at  Paris  for  a  few  days  on  his 
way.  After  a  long  tramp  Mulhausen  was  reached,  but 
he  found  all  the  workers  there  in  great  distress.  His 
cup  of  bitterness  was  now  nearly  full.  A  stranger  in  a 
strange  land,  with  little  knowledge  of  the  language,  no 
friend  or  acquaintance  to  appeal  to,  and  nothing  where- 
with to  earn  a  living.  The  Mayor  of  the  town  afforded 
him  some  help  in  his  wretchedness,  and  Prince,  in  hopes 
of  trade  increasing,  stayed  here  five  months.  But 
nothing  came  to  his  hand,  and  he  longed  to  get  home 
again.  With  ten  sous  in  his  pocket  he  started  his  tramp 
back  to  Calais.  The  beautiful  scenery  through  which  he 
passed  formed  the  chief  sustainer  of  his  spirits,  but  he 
got  little  food  to  keep  up  his  strength.  He  arrived  in 
London  worn  out  and  penniless.  Selling  his  waistcoat 
for  eightpence  he  bought  with  the  coppers  a  penny  loaf 
and  four  pennyworth  of  notepaper.  He  then  entered  a 
tavern,  ordered  a  little  refreshment,  and  filled  all  his  paper 
with  poetry.  But  when  he  came  to  offer  his  work  to  the 
London  booksellers  he  was  met  by  refusals,  his  ragged 
and  famished  appearance  doubtless  being  against  him. 
He  wandered  for  two  days,  a  dejected  outcast,  about  the 
great  metropolis,  and  then  turned  his  steps  towards 
home. 

After  a  weary  tramp  he  eventually  arrived  in  Hyde, 
but  found  that  in  his  absence,  owing  to  stress  of  circum- 
stances, his  wife  and  children  had  been  compelled  to  leave 
their  home,  and  had  entered  the  Poor  House  in  Wigan. 
Prince  quickly  wended  his  way  thither,  and  bringing 
them  back  to  Manchester,  settled  for  a  time  in  that  city. 
During  his  short  stay  here,  his  youngest  child,  an  only 
boy,  died. 

The  bard  has  recorded  his  grief  at  this  time  in  some 


12  A   WIGAN    POET  I 

of  his  most  touching  verse.     The  poet  and  father  are 
beautifully  revealed  in  the  following  lines  :— 

****** 
'Twas  sweet  to  kiss  thy  sleeping  eyes  at  morn, 

And  press  thy  lips  that  welcomed  my  return ; 

'Twas  sweet  to  hear  thy  cheerful  voice  at  play, 

And  watch  thy  steps  the  live-long  Sabbath  day ; 

'Twas  sweet  to  take  thee  on  my  knee,  and  hear 

Thine  artless  narrative  of  joy  or  fear — 

To  catch  the  dawning  of  inquiring  thought, 

And  every  change  that  time  and  teaching  wrought. 

This  was  my  wish — to  guard  thee  as  a  child, 

And  keep  thy  stainless  spirit  undefiled : 

To  guide  thy  progress  upward  unto  youth, 

And  store  thy  mind  with  every  precious  truth  : 

Send  thee  to  mingle  with  the  world's  rude  throng, 

In  moral  worth  and  manly  virtues  strong, 

With  such  rare  energies  as  well  might  claim 

The  patriot's  glory  and  the  poet's  fame.1 
******* 

Prince  did  not  remain  long  in  Manchester.  He  was 
soon  back  again  in  Hyde,  working  with  his  father  once 
more.  Reedmaking  was  certainly  a  fluctuating  and 
unlucrative  business,  but  it  was  the  only  source  of 
income  to  Prince.  Though  he  had  to  "  bow  in  passive 
patience  to  his  doom,"  he  was  not  "beset  around  with 
wretchedness  and  gloom,"  for  he  now  entered  upon  the 
brightest  phase  of  his  career.  In  1838  he  secured 
an  appointment  as  yarn  warehouseman  at  the  mills  of 
Mr.  Randall  Hibbert,  of  Hyde.  This  situation  seemed 
to  have  suited  him  well.  Compared  with  his  last  state, 
he  was  now  in  comfort ;  freed  from  the  corroding  cares 
of  poverty,  the  whole  aspect  of  his  affairs  became  much 
brighter.  Moreover,  his  poetic  gift  became  known  and 

"The  Father's  Lament." 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY   PRINCE  13 

appreciated  ;  and  this,  above  all  other  considerations, 
gave  the  poet  the  most  happiness.  A  few  literary- 
inclined  friends  gradually  gathered  round  him  ;  and  these 
friends  in  time  formed  themselves  into  an  association 
called  the  "Literary  Twelve."  The  "Twelve"  met 
periodically,  when  papers  on  literary  topics  were  read 
and  discussed.  Sometimes  these  papers  found  their  way 
into  the  press — Prince's  amongst  others.  In  this  way 
public  attention  was  attracted  towards  the  poet,  his 
contributions  to  the  periodicals  appeared  oftener,  and  in 
1841,  by  the  united  efforts  of  his  friends — for  he  could 
not  afford  the  pecuniary  risk  himself — his  first  volume 
of  poems,  entitled  "  Hours  with  the  Muses,"  was 
published. 

The  venture  was  a  great  success.  The  publication  of 
the  poems  had  not  been  preceded  by  elaborate  notices 
to  the  effect  that  a  great  poet  had  arisen.  The  work 
was  left  to  take  its  own  chance,  and  it  did  not  pass  un- 
noticed. The  little  volume  had  an  excellent  reception, 
and  many  editions  were  called  for.  If  some  interest  was 
attached  to  the  work  on  account  of  the  author's  humble 
position,  it  was  the  sweetness,  simplicity,  and  sincerity  of 
his  verse  that  appealed  to  all  classes.  Although  the 
poet  had  been  cradled  in  poverty,  brought  up  in  the 
most  degrading  environment,  and  passed  on  to  manhood 
to  taste  some  of  life's  bitterest  disappointments,  yet  in 
his  poetry  there  is  little  trace  of  misanthropy  ;  instead  of 
drawing  from  the  wells  of  bitter  experience  language 
which  portray's  life  in  its  darkest  aspect,  he  makes  his 
past  hard  lot  the  text  for  many  lessons  to  humanity,  and 
his  muse  is  never  seen  in  a  stronger  or  more  poetic  vein 
than  when  it  is  dwelling  on  the  beauties  of  creation  and 
the  grandeur  of  living. 


14  A   WIGAN    POET  t 

"  The  Poet's  Sabbath "  is  the  first  poem  in  "  Hours 
with  the  Muses,"  and  perhaps  takes  the  first  place  in  the 
efforts  of  Prince's  muse,  The  poem  is  lengthy,  con- 
taining altogether  fifty-six  stanzas  of  nine  lines  each. 
The  vivid  imagery  in  many  of  the  verses  and  the  high 
poetic  tone  sustained  to  the  end  is  very  striking.  The 
following  selections  will  speak  for  themselves  : — 

****** 
God  of  the  boundless  universe  !  I  come 
To  hold  communion  with  myself  and  Thee  ! 
And  though  excess  of  beauty  makes  me  dumb, 
My  thoughts  are  eloquent  with  all  I  see  ! 
My  foot  is  on  the  mountains, — I  am  free, 
And  buoyant  as  the  winds  that  round  me  blow  ! 
My  dreams  are  sunny  as  yon  pleasant  lea, 
And  tranquil  as  the  pool  that  sleeps  below ; 
While,  circling  round  my  heart,  a  poet's  raptures  glow. 
****** 

Behold  each  various  feature  of  the  scene, 

Shining  in  light,  and  softening  into  shade ; 

Peak  beyond  peak,  with  many  a  mile  between, — 

The  rude  defile,  the  lonely  forest  glade, — 

The  gold-besprinkled  meadows,  softly  swayed 

By  every  fitful  frolic  of  the  breeze, — 

The  river,  like  a  wandering  child,  conveyed 

Back  to  the  bosom  of  its  native  seas, — 
Paved  with  all  glorious  shapes,  skies,  clouds,  hills,  rocks, 
and  trees. 

****** 

Man  cannot  stand  beneath  a  loftier  dome 

Than  this  cerulean  canopy  of  light — 

The  Eternal's  vast,  immeasurable  home, 

Lovely  by  day,  and  wonderful  by  night ! 

Than  this  enamelled  floor  so  greenly  bright, 

A  richer  pavement  man  hath  never  trod ; 

He  cannot  gaze  upon  a  holier  sight 

Than  fleeting  cloud,  fresh  wave,  and  fruitful  sod — 
Leaves  of  that  boundless  Book,  writ  by  the  hand  of  God  ! 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY   PRINCE  15 

The  sun,  now  resting  on  the  mountain's  head, 
Flings  rosy  radiance  o'er  the  smiling  land  ; 
Around  his  track  gigantic  clouds  are  spread, 
Like  the  creation  of  some  wizard  hand ; 
Now  they  assume  new  shapes,  wild,  strange,  and  grand, 
Touched  by  the  breath  of  eve's  ethereal  gale  : 
Like  burning  cliffs  and  blazing  towers  they  stand, 
Frowning  above  an  emerald-paven  vale, 
Such  as  my  fancy  found  in  Childhood's  fairy  tale. 
****** 

Now  the  lone  twilight,  like  a  widowed  maiden, 
Pale,  pure,  and  pensive,  steals  along  the  skies  ; 
With  dewy  tears  the  sleeping  flowers  are  laden — 
The  leaves  are  stirred  with  spiritual  sighs ; 
The  stars  are  looking  down  with  radiant  eyes, 
Like  hosts  of  watchful  Cherubim,  that  guard 
A  wide  and  weary  world ;  the  glow  worm  lies, 
A  living  gem  upon  the  grassy  sward, 
Uncared  for  and  unsought,  save  by  the  wandering  bard. 
****** 

Blest  Sabbath  time  !  on  life's  tempestuous  ocean, 
The  poor  man's  only  haven  of  repose — 
Oh,  thou  hast  wakened  many  a  sweet  emotion, 
Since  morning's  sun  upon  thy  being  rose  ! 
Now  thou  art  wearing  gently  to  a  close — 
Thy  starry  pinions  are  prepared  for  flight — 
A  dim  forgetfulness  within  me  grows — 
External  things  are  stealing  from  my  sight — 
Good  night !  departing  Sabbath  of  my  soul — good  night ! 

The  other  poems  in  the  volume  which  linger  in  the 
mind,  are  "  The  Captive's  Dream,"  "  The  Father's 
Lament,"  and  "  The  Voice  of  the  Primrose."  The  last- 
mentioned  is  a  beautifully  conceived  poem,  and  shows 
the  poet's  love  for  the  smallest  things  in  nature,  while 
"  The  Captive's  Dream,"  containing  fifty  stanzas  of 
various  metres  is  as  one  of  his  critic's  says,  "  of  thrilling 
power,  complete  in  detail ;  and  whilst  bristling  in  concise, 


1 6  A  WIGAN   POET  : 

illuminating  portraiture,  is  replete  with  a  spirit  of  deep 
tenderness." 

Prince,  now  an  acknowledged  poet,  and  known  as 
"  The  Bard  of  Hyde,"  gave  up  his  position  in  the  Hyde 
mills  and  took  a  little  shop  in  Long  Millgate,  Manchester. 
He  was  the  object  of  great  interest  here,  and  new  friends 
and  admirers  gathered  round  him.  He  has  been  de- 
scribed by  his  sympathetic  biographer,  Dr.  Douglas 
Lithgow,  as  being  "  a  man  of  slight  physique,  but  wiry, 
and  rather  above  the  medium  height,  being  about  five 
feet  ten.  His  head  was  massive  and  striking,  his  fore- 
head lofty  and  expansive,  his  face  expressive,  and  a 
profusion  of  dark-brown  silky  hair,  which  he  wore  long 
and  flowing  behind,  added  much  to  his  peculiar  appear- 
ance. Although  the  various  details  of  his  features  were 
of  an  ordinary  character,  yet  the  aspect  of  his  head  and 
face  in  the  aggregate  was  certainly  intellectual,  and  the 
general  effect  suggestive  and  remarkable." 

The  Sun  Inn,  opposite  the  poet's  shop,  became  quite 
a  centre  of  literary  Lancashire.  At  these  Sun  Inn 
meetings  Prince  was  the  central  figure.  His  conversation 
when  once  let  loose  fascinated  all,  and  when  they  could 
persuade  him  to  sing  his  voice  charmed  the  whole  com- 
pany. A  Literary  Association  was  soon  organised,  with 
Prince  as  one  of  the  foremost  members.  But  all 
these  sweets  were  not  without  their  bitters.  In  the 
words  of  one  of  the  poet's  critics,1  "  his  friends'  admira- 
tion often  took  a  fluid  form."  In  the  midst  of  his  first 
success,  the  influence  of  his  associates  nipped  the  bud  of 
the  second.  He  gave  his  ear  to  their  flattery  and  suffered 
through  it.  When  the  first  flush  of  prosperity  passed 

1  Axon  (W.  E.  A.)  Cheshire  Gleanings  (1884),  p.  23. 


JOHN   CRITCHLEY   PRINCE  1 7 

away,  and  his  position  again  became  precarious,  few  of 
these  attentive  friends  stood  by  him.  A  gentle,  sensitive, 
and  unsuspicious  nature  such  as  Prince  possessed,  needed 
guidance  and  support  at  a  critical  time  like  this,  and 
though  true  friends  did  come  forward  and  help  him  in 
his  difficulties,  he  never  wholly  recovered  from  the  sting 
left  in  his  soul,  as  the  fruit  of  these  happy  days. 


II. 

"  They  have  played  with  me  like  a  toy  and  cast  me 
away  because  I  got  a  little  soiled  in  the  handling." 
These  bitter  words  of  Prince  are  true.  The  success 
that  accompanied  his  first  work  carried  in  its  wake 
tendencies  which  found  their  best  soil  in  popularity  ;  and 
when  developed  blighted  the  whole  of  his  after  life. 
Intemperance,  irresolution,  loss  of  self-control — these 
were  the  traits  which  grew  into  strong  evidence  during 
the  happy  days  of  his  recognition.  Prince  experienced 
two  awakenings  :  the  first  when  he  found  himself  famous  ; 
the  other  when  he  realised  himself  abandoned  and  soiled 
after  twelve  months  feasting  and  revelry.  With  the 
sting  of  remorse  and  the  gall  of  disappointment  torturing 
his  soul,  how  applicable  are  his  own  lines ! 

"  Would  we  admire  the  lark's  melodious  glee, 

Yet  dispossess  him  of  his  skyward  wings  ? 
Alas  !  we  pluck  the  wild  flower  with  a  smile, 
Inhale  its  fragrant  breath,  but  stain  its  leaves  awhile."  x 

At  this  critical  period  (1842),  one  of  his  admirers — 
Mr.  George  Falkner,  editor  of  "  Bradshaw's  Journal" — 

1  From  "Stanzas,  written  after  a  winter's  walk  in  the  country." — Hours  -with  the 
Muses. 

3 


1 8  A   WIGAN    POET  : 

came  to  his  rescue.  He  suggested  to  Prince  that  he 
should  undertake  a  journey  on  foot  to  London,  and 
record  his  impressions  and  experiences,  in  descriptive 
letters,  addressed  to  the  editor  of  the  Journal.  In  his 
absence  his  family  would  be  maintained,  and  he  would 
receive  a  remittance  for  each  letter — "as  the  robin  pays 
its  way  with  a  welcome  song."  l  Prince  readily  agreed, 
and  during  his  journeys  addressed  nine  delightful  letters 
to  "  Bradshaw's  Journal."  Easy,  simple,  and  eloquent  in 
his  style,  with  enthusiastic  poetic  effusions  when  the 
scene  he  is  depicting  appeals  to  him  most  strongly,  his 
"  Rambles  of  a  Rhymster "  afford  the  reader  no  small 
insight  into  his  powers  as  a  writer  of  prose.  His  ease 
in  this  direction  may  be  attributed — as  was  the  case  with 
Southey — to  his  assiduous  practice  for  many  years  in 
writing  verse. 

Nature  was  just  opening  to  the  breath  of  Spring  as 
Prince  started  on  his  tour  from  Cheadle — where  he 
parted  with  his  wife.  Surrounded  by  "green  fields  and 
luxuriant  hedgerows  "  he  took  a  mental  look  backward  at 
the  city  of  his  humiliation,  and  experienced  no  longing 
to  "turn  again."  Pushing  on  through  Wilmslow  he 
rested  for  the  first  night  at  Congleton.  The  next  day 
he  passed  through  the  Potteries — a  region  which  he 
"never  desired  to  see  again."  On  reaching  Newcastle 
he  despatched  his  first  letter  for  print,  dated  April  2Oth, 
1842.  The  country,  as  yet,  had  not  been  very  inspiring, 
but  at  Trentham,  the  beautiful  seat  of  the  Duke  of 
Sutherland,  he  was  much  impressed  with  the  whole 
landscape ;  the  wooded  hills  and  the  superior  character 
of  the  countryside  pleasing  him  exceedingly.  As  he 

1  Procter's  "  Prince  of  Provincial  Poets." — Memorials  of  Manchester. 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY   PRINCE  19 

reached  Stone  the  pleasant  scenes  "dissolved  away," 
and  the  Birmingham  district  failed  to  touch  his  poetic 
fancy.  Pursuing  his  way  leisurely  through  the  "pictur- 
esque city  "  of  Coventry,  the  quiet  village  of  Kenilworth, 
and  the  "antiquated  streets"  of  Warwick  he  neared  the 
land  of  Shakespeare.  As  he  approached  Stratford-on- 
Avon  his  excitement  naturally  increased,  and  overcome 
by  the  strangeness  of  his  thoughts  he  sat  down  by  the 
side  of  a  milestone,  on  which  was  inscribed  "  One  mile 
to  Stratford."  As  a  slight  expression  of  his  feelings,  he 
thought  it  would  not  be  inappropriate  to  walk  "  barefooted 
to  the  grave  of  the  Bard  of  Mankind."  The  indifferent 
attitude,  however,  of  the  inhabitants  somewhat  cooled 
him ;  but  the  following  day,  as  he  wandered  round  the 
haunts  of  Shakespeare,  nothing  could  damp  his  enthu- 
siasm, and  standing  over  the  grave  of  the  "  undying  one  " 
his  pent-up  emotion  found  utterance  in  some  of  his  noblest 
verse.  One  stanza  from  the  "  Lines  suggested  at  the 
Grave  of  Shakespeare  "  must  suffice  : — 

"  Once  mortal  here,  but  now  Immortal  One, 

Thou  great  and  glorious  favourite  of  fame, 
Thoughtful  I  stand  upon  thy  grave  alone 
Tranced  by  the  mighty  magic  of  thy  name ; 
Filled  with  a  slender  portion  of  thy  flame, 
Hither  a  pilgrim  I  have  proudly  sped, 
To  linger  for  a  brief  and  happy  space 
About  the  genius  hallowed  resting  place 
Of  England's  honoured  dead." 

When  Prince  had  reached  Chipping  Norton  he  was 
called  home  suddenly  on  urgent  business,  and  the 
"  Rambles "  were  temporarily  suspended.  In  mid- 
summer, however,  he  set  out  once  more  ;  this  time  map- 
ping out  a  more  interesting  route.  After  making  a  brief 


2O  A   WIGAN    POET  : 

sojourn  at  Chester,  where  he  was  much  pleased  with  the 
quaint  antiquities  of  the  old  town,  he  turned  north,  and 
took  ship  from  Liverpool  to  Rhyl.  The  first  object  that 
riveted  his  attention  in  the  '  Switzerland  of  Britain,'  was 
Rhuddlan  Castle.  Seated  amidst  the  "  moss  and  ivy 
clothed  ruins  "  of  that  ancient  structure  he  pondered  over 
its  great  historical  associations,  and  as  the  captivating 
aspect  of  his  surroundings  grew  upon  him  he  abandoned 
morose  description  and  penned  some  fine  retrospective 
verses  on  the  Welsh  bards  and  heroes. 

Reluctantly  leaving  this  spot  he  made  his  way  through 
Abergele  to  Conway.  The  romantic  castle  and  the 
lovely  vale  of  Conway  made  rival  claims  upon  his  admira- 
tion, but  after  passing  upon  the  castle  the  flattering 
observation  that  it  was  a  "noble  and  imposing  ruin," 
he  devoted  two  long  letters  to  the  feast  nature  had 
provided  for  him.  The  everchanging  picture  of  that 
scene  enchanted  him.  "At  one  time  I  seemed  to  be 
traversing  a  calm,  gentle,  and  pastoral  hollow,  through 
which  the  quiet  river  wound  its  pleasant  way,  flanked  by 
green  swelling  hills,  speckled  with  sheep  and  shepherds' 
cottages  ;  anon,  up  rose  a  wall  of  bleak,  vast,  and  sterile 
mountains,  whose  summits  seemed  to  defy  the  power  of 
man  to  invade  them.  By  and  by  would  appear  sweet 
snatches  of  pasture  land,  blushing  with  red  clover,  and 
filling  the  air  with  delicious  odour — meadows,  sprinkled 
with  gold,  and  undulating  like  verdant  lakes — devious 
green  lanes,  with  their  hedgerows  starred  with  wild  roses, 
entwined  within  the  dewy  fingers  of  the  honeysuckle- 
sloping  banks,  gay  with  a  profusion  of  'lang  yellow 
broom,'  absolutely  dazzling  to  the  sight — cool  secluded 
nooks,  where  the  retiring  and  stately  foxglove  shook  its 
crimson  bells  in  the  summer  air ;  and  then,  perhaps,  the 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY    PRINCE  21 

next  hundred  paces  would  bring  me  into  a  region  of  the 
most  sterile  and  savage  magnificence."  Such  is  the 
exalted  prose  style  of  Prince.  His  sixth  and  seventh 
letters  contain  word  paintings  so  vivid  that  it  would  be 
difficult  for  the  most  accomplished  writer  to  surpass 
them. 

Pursuing  his  way  through  Llawrst  and  Bettws-y-Coed, 
Prince  entered  the  valley  of  the  Lligwy,  and  confesses 
that  "this  exquisitely  charming  region  had  not  been 
surpassed  by  anything  he  had  yet  seen."  From  Bangor 
he  went  to  Menai,  and  on  his  way  thither  was  favoured 
with  a  first  view  of  Snowdon.  From  Menai  he  proceeded 
to  Carnarvon,  and  the  castle  there  drew  from  him  a  charm- 
ing sonnet.  His  most  inspiring  experience,  however,  was 
still  before  him.  Arriving  at  Llanberris  one  bright  summer 
morning  he  determined  to  explore  the  monarch  of  Snow- 
donia  before  the  close  of  another  day.  Preferring  to  be 
without  companions  or  a  guide  on  his  excursion  he  set  out 
alone.  The  account  of  the  ascent  shows  Prince  in  one  of 
his  strongest  descriptive  veins.  The  following  words  are 
taken  at  random.  "  As  I  ascended  the  rocks  of  Llan- 
berris and  the  neighbouring  mountains  appeared  to  be 
on  a  level  with  my  feet ;  the  large  inn  in  the  vale 
dwindled  to  the  size  of  a  bird  cage ;  the  castle  of  Dol- 
barden,  which  stands  near  it,  to  a  mere  toy ;  the  lakes 
which  wash  its  base  to  two  compact  blue  mirrors, 
occasionally  spotted  with  the  reflection  of  white  clouds 
passing  over  them.  Higher  still,  and  the  silence,  the 
intense  awful  silence  of  mountain  solitudes,  broken  only 
by  the  bleating  of  sheep,  or  the  reverberating  explosions 
in  the  slate  quarries,  became  more  and  more  impressive." 
After  his  descent  from  Snowdon,  Prince  stayed  to  rest 
in  the  vale  of  Llanberris,  and  whilst  there  penned  some 


22  A   WIGAN    POET  I 

verses  on  the  spring  which  he  found  on  the  mountain's 
top. 

Leaving  Llanberris  Prince  returned  through  the  vale 
of  Lligwy,  kept  on  the  great  Holyhead  road,  passed 
Bettws-y-coed,  and  directed  his  steps  southward.  His 
"  Sonnet  on  Quitting  North  Wales "  contains  some 
characteristic  lines : — 

"  Farewell,  proud  region  !  where  the  living  God 
Hath  built  a  temple  for  the  living  heart 

To  worship  in  sincerely.     I  have  trod 

From  cloudy  towns  and  fretful  men  apart 

Thine  aisles  of  majesty.     In  truth  thou  art 
A  vast  cathedral  where  devotion  springs 

In  feelings  not  in  words.     Thou  dost  impart 
Sublimest  doctrines  by  sublimest  things. 

The  mountains  are  thy  priesthood ;  Snowdon  flings 
A  silent  language  from  his  awful  face; 

Prayer  goeth  up  from  streams,  the  cataract  sings 
Incessant  anthems  to  the  throne  of  grace ; 

And  I  have  lingered  in  thy  fane  to  feel 

The  Eternal  Presence  o'er  my  spirit  steal." 

Original  sonnets  and  poems  are  interweaved  through 
all  the  four  letters  Prince  addressed  from  Wales,  while 
the  country  in  his  midland  tour,  only  caused  him  to  un- 
burden his  feelings  once  in  verse.  "  Sterile  mountains  " 
always  appealed  to  his  poetic  temperament  more  than 
"undulating  meadow  lands."  In  his  fifth  letter  he  tells 
his  readers  that  he  has  "an  uncontrollable  passion  for 
mountain  scenery,  and  though  circumstances  may  lull  it 
to  sleep,  the  slightest  distant  view  of  a  country  of  that 
character  awakens  the  old  feeling,  and  he  longs  for 
wings  to  gratify  his  wishes."  When  once  Wales  is  left 
behind,  Prince  takes  the  reader  rather  hurriedly  through 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY   PRINCE  23 

Shrewsbury,  Bilston,  Birmingham,  and  Coventry  to  the 
metropolis. 

Whilst  Prince  was  taking  his  rambles,  many  of  his 
friends,  perceiving  the  uncertainty  of  his  livelihood, 
made  strenuous  efforts  to  secure  for  him  some  Govern- 
ment appointment,  and  after  much  correspondence  they 
succeeded.  The  short  suspension  of  Prince's  tour  at 
Chipping  Norton  was  caused  by  his  new  prospects ;  but 
the  delay  gave  him  a  permanent  occupation  as  the 
termination  of  his  second  journey.  The  character  of 
the  post  was  not  exactly  known  at  first,  but  Prince 
eventually  learned  that  it  was  in  connection  with  the 
Southampton  Post  Office.  His  own  opinion,  expressed 
in  a  letter  to  Mr.  R.  W.  Procter,  of  Manchester,  dated 
June  22nd,  1842,  from  London,  is  of  interest.  ". 
You  will  forgive  me  not  writing  sooner,  as  I  have  been 
so  unsettled.  I  find  my  earliest  friends  the  most  faith- 
ful of  all.  Is  it  not  lamentable  that  after  being  promise- 
crammed  for  twelve  months  I  am  now  compelled  to 
sink  down  into  a  penny  postman,  at  153.  per  week.  It 
stings  me  to  the  quick.  I  have,  however,  learned  a 
lesson  I  shall  [not  soon  forget,  and  by  which  I  hope 
ultimately  to  profit.  I  go  to  my  new  appointment  [at 
Southampton]  to-morrow.  I  do  not  know  how  I  shall 
like  it,  not  very  well  I  am  sure,  though  I  shall  then  be 
really  and  truly  a  man  of  letters.  Let  me  tell  you  that 
you  are  happy  in  a  calling  independent  of  the  pen.  You 
will  excuse  my  brevity,  as  I  am  not  '  i'  the  vein.' — 
Believe  me,  yours  faithfully,  J.  C.  PRINCE."  It  is  not 
surprising  to  learn  from  Mr.  Procter,  Prince's  cor- 
respondent, that  "after  a  few  days  investigation  at 
Southampton  and  at  London,  the  poet,  failing  to 
appreciate  the  advantages  of  his  new  Government 


A   WIGAN    POET  I 

position,  returned  to  his  shop  in  Long  Millgate,  Man- 
chester." 

,  In  rejecting  this  permanent  post  Prince  forfeited  the 
patronage  of  many  who  had  formerly  exerted  themselves 
in  his  behalf.  The  "  ungrateful  genius  "  found  it  neces- 
sary now  to  rely  upon  his  own  exertions,  and  in  a  little 
while  he  removed  from  Long  Millgate  to  Hanover 
Street,  Manchester,  where  he  again  followed  the  trade 
he  had  learned  at  his  father's  side.  It  was  a  double 
change.  To  use  a  trite  expression,  "  he  had  had  his 
day,"  and  was  clearly  sinking  back  into  obscurity.  The 
changed  conditions  of  the  poet  are  touchingly  shown  in  a 
reminiscence  of  Mrs.  Linneas  Banks,  the  popular  Lanca- 
shire novelist.  "He  was  a  reedmaker  once  more  ;  but  his 
soul  sang  as  he  adjusted  the  -slight  wires  within  their 
frame,  and  in  the  intervals  of  moody  bitterness  a  poem 
would  well  forth.  Now  and  then  a  poetical  friend  would 
drop  in  upon  him  ;  I  used  to  call  as  I  went  to  town,  and 
chat  with  him  by  the  hour,  as  he  worked  away.  I  think 
that  at  that  period,  and  for  some  time  previously,  Mrs. 
Prince  helped  him  with  her  needle,  if  not  with  some  other 
handicraft  of  which  I  knew  nothing ;  but  I  never  went 
into  any  other  part  of  the  domicile  than  that  bare  room, 
with  its  one  chair  and  stool,  and  its  gaunt  and  ungainly, 
but  intellectual  inmate,  who  had  ever  a  book  or  a  paper 
by  his  side  ;  and,  unless  in  one  of  his  moody  veins,  was 
glad  to  hold  converse  with  any  friend  of  congenial  taste 
who  was  not  too  proud  to  visit  the  reedmaker." 

Prince's  next  literary  effort  was  to  begin  a  series  of 
"  Random  Readings  from  the  Poets  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century"  in  Bradshaw's  Journal  (Aug.,  1842).  Two 
papers,  however,  only  appeared ;  the  first,  an  intensely 
eulogistic  paper  on  John  Keats  (Prince's  favourite  poet 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY   PRINCE  25 

after  Goldsmith) ;  the  other  a  friendly  notice  of  Ebenezer 
Elliott,  the  corn-law  rhymer.  The  chief  interest,  how- 
ever, of  Prince's  later  years  is  centred  in  the  four 
volumes  of  poetry,  with  prose  sketches,  published 
between  the  years  1841  and  1861.  Taken  as  a  whole, 
the  work  covering  this  period,  instead  of  bearing  the 
marks  of  a  ripened  mind,  fails  to  reach  the  standard  of 
poetic  excellence  attained  in  his  maiden  volume.  His 
frustrated  hopes,  his  distracted  mind,  his  unsettled  affairs 
— all  these  were  detrimental  to  the  upward  growth  of 
his  muse,  and  were  without  doubt  the  cause  of  so  much 
indifferent  verse  issuing  from  his  pen. 

Six  years  elapsed  before  Prince  issued  his  second 
volume  of  poems,  appropriately  entitled  "  Dreams  and 
Realities"  (1847).  In  the  interval  he  had  enjoyed  a 
brief  period  of  popularity,  and  vigorous  efforts  had  been 
made  to  restore  him  to  a  respectable  position.  But 
whilst  subscriptions  were  being  raised,  and  readings 
given  in  various  towns  in  his  behalf,  a  mad  fit  of 
intemperance  seized  hold  of  him,  and  organised  assist- 
ance once  more  came  to  nought.  People  became  pre- 
judiced against  him,  and  a  rather  cool  reception  was 
accorded  to  his  new  volume.  His  three  other  works, 
"The  Poetic  Rosary  "(1850),  "Autumn  Leaves"  (1856), 
and  "Miscellaneous  Poems"  (1861)  were  published 
purely  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  cash,  and  were  never 
intended,  nor  expected,  by  the  author  to  enhance  his 
reputation  as  a  bard.  And  yet  in  these  later  volumes 
there  are  many  poems  which  do  high  honour  to  Prince's 
muse.  "  The  Press  and  the  Cannon,"  "  The  Golden 
Land  of  Poesy,"  his  temperance  poems,  and  many 
others,  may  be  favourably  compared  with  his  acknow- 
ledged masterpieces,  although  a  vast  amount  of  the 

4 


26  A   WIGAN    POET  : 

verse  from  which  the  above  are  taken  would  doubtless 
have  never  appeared  in  print  except  through  the  stress 
of  Prince's  circumstances. 

Prince  had  removed  in  1843  from  Manchester  to 
Ashton-under-Lyne,  and  it  was  in  this  town  most  of  his 
after  years  were  spent.  He  held  a  situation  as  reed- 
maker  in  a  manufactory  there  for  a  considerable  time, 
but  he  relinquished  reedmaking  in  anticipation  of  a  great 
sale  of  "  Dreams  and  Realities."  He  afterwards  became 
journeyman  in  his  old  trade,  and  tramped  from  town 
to  town  seeking  employment,  but  finding  little.  As 
time  wore  on  his  circumstances  grew  worse  and  worse, 
and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  devotion  and  exertions 
of  his  second  wife  he  would  have  sunk  down  into  the 
most  abject  poverty.  He  seemed,  in  fact,  to  be  as 
a  ship  without  a  rudder,  tossed  about  by  every  fitful 
wind,  and  succumbing  at  last  to  his  own  weaknesses. 
If  a  man  of  strong  character  offered  him  counsel  he 
was  deeply  repentant,  and  he  would  express  his  high 
resolves  in  lofty  verse.  If  he  came  in  contact  with  a  few 
'  artists '  of  like  temperament  with  himself,  "  Bohemian 
revelry  "  was  the  sure  outcome  of  their  company.  Prince 
was  old  and  broken  when  many  men  are  in  the  fruitful 
autumn  of  their  days.  Mr.  Procter  tells  us1  that 
"  several  years  prior  to  his  decease  Prince  resumed  his 
visits  to  Manchester,  and  many  old  associations  seemed 
to  be  partially  resuscitated.  One  of  the  last  occasions 
was  in  the  autumn  of  1865,  when  the  poor  fellow  was 
the  victim  of  partial  paralysis,  a  sad  wreck,  to  whom 
pipe  and  glass,  no  longer  mere  indulgences,  were  stern 
necessities.  In  the  spring  of  1866  Prince,  supported  by 

1  Memorials  of  Manchester,  by  R.  W.  Procter, 


JOHN    CRITCHLEY    PRINCE  2^ 

his  wife,  walked  his  final  ramble.  He  chose  the 
Mottram  Road,  because  he  knew  that  as  he  advanced  in 
that  direction  he  would  be  environed  by  the  '  everlasting 
hills ' — the  Bucktons,  the  Oldermans,  the  Dark  Kinders, 
—he  loved  so  well  and  had  celebrated  so  often.  These 
were  the  points  of  earth  where  the  departing  spirit  the 
latest  lingered."  He  had  returned  to  Hyde  to  die — the 
little  town  in  which  he  had  first  won  the  love  of  a  pretty 
maid,  and  where  he  first  earned  his  poetic  name  and 
fame.  The  "  Bard  of  Hyde  "  passed  away  in  his  fifty- 
eighth  year  on  the  3rd  of  May,  1866. 

The  name  of  John  Critchley  Prince  is  almost  syn- 
onymous with  "  Hours  with  the  Muses."  That  work 
marks  the  highest  point  to  which  he  ever  reached  in  the 
literary  world,  and  contains  the  loftiest  outpourings  of 
his  muse.  Although,  as  noted  above,  he  published  four 
other  volumes  of  verse,  the  inscription  which  follows 
his  name  on  his  tombstone,  in  Hyde  churchyard,  is 
simply  "Author  of  '  Hours  with  the  Muses.' '  On  that 
one  volume  rest  his  claims  as  a  poet,  as  distinct  from 
popular  rhymster,  and  by  that  volume  his  most  ardent 
admirers  would  have  him  judged.  He  was  a  lesser 
light,  but  in  his  own  sphere  he  shone  brightly. 


CROMWELLIAN      AND      NAPOLEONIC 
LITERATURE :  A  NOTE. 


TTECTOR  MACPHERSON  in  his  excellent  book 
JT1  on  "Herbert  Spencer:  the  man  and  his  work," 
says  :  "  A  philosophic  thinker  of  the  first  rank  is  always 
known  by  the  amount  of  literature  which  his  writings 
call  forth.  Descartes,  Locke,  Spinoza,  Hume,  Kant, 
Hegel — these,  in  their  respective  spheres,  were  epoch 
makers."  The  above  words  might,  with  propriety,  be 
applied  to  men  of  letters  in  other  spheres,  as  Shakes- 
peare, Dante,  Milton,  and  also  to  men  of  action,  as 
Oliver  Cromwell  and  Napoleon  Buonaparte.  The  two 
latter  characters  have,  especially,  been  favourite  subjects 
to  historians  and  other  scholars  during  recent  years. 
And  though  it  may  be  true  that  to  touch  the  life  of 
Cromwell  is  to  touch  the  national  life  and  character  of 
the  English  people  at  one  of  the  most  momentous 
periods  in  its  history,  that  to  approach  the  career  of 
Napoleon  is  to  come  face  to  face  with  a  revolution 
which  shook  every  power  in  Europe  to  its  foundations, 
yet  it  is  the  personal  element,  perhaps  more  than  the 
historical  element,  in  these  two  men  that  has  evoked 
such  remarkable  attention.  The  true  personality  of 
Oliver  is  now  "emerging  from  the  floating  mists  of 
time,"  and  Napoleon  the  first  is  being  studied  by  a 
generation  who  lived  not  at  the  time  when  heated 
passions  obscured  an  impartial  estimate  of  the  man. 

The  most  interesting  books  that  have  recently  been 
issued  on  the  Protector  and  the  Little  Corsican  (at 
least  as  regards  this  note)  are  "  Napoleon,  the  last 
phase,"  by  Lord  Rosebery,  and  "Oliver  Cromwell,"  by 


. 

CROMWELLIAN    AND    NAPOLEONIC    LITERATURE  2Q 

the  Right  Hon.  John  Morley,  M.P.  Each  book  contains 
an  introductory  chapter  on  the  literature  of  its  subject 
— Lord  Rosebery  being  severe,  while  Mr.  Morley  is 
strongly  appreciative.  Mr.  Morley  tells  us  he  was  half 
way  across  the  stream  with  his  biography  before  he 
learned  those  two  giants  of  research — Dr.  Gardiner  and 
Mr.  Firth — were  also  in  the  biographic  field.  Before 
these  masters  of  the  seventeenth  century  Mr.  Morley 
does  not  seem  to  claim  any  higher  position  than  that  of 
devoted  student.  He  finds  it  necessary  to  gratefully 
acknowledge  his  inevitable  debt  to  the  heroic  labours  of 
Dr.  Gardiner,  and  to  the  toil  and  discernment  of  Mr. 
Firth,  "whose  contributions  to  the  'Dictionary  of 
National  Biography '  show  him  besides  much  else,  to 
know  the  actors  and  incidents  of  the  Civil  Wars  with  a 
minute  intimacy  commonly  reserved  for  the  things  of 
the  time  in  which  a  man  actually  lives."  Mr.  Firth's  life 
of  the  Protector,  in  the  Heroes  of  the  Nations  Series 
recently  added  to  the  Library,  is  one  great  emphasis  of 
this  tribute.  Mr.  Frederic  Harrison,  himself  the  author 
of  a  brilliant  little  book  on  Cromwell,  in  the  Twelve 
English  Statesmen  Series,  has  gone  so  far  as  to  say  of 
Mr.  Firth's  work  that  "  it  will  pass  with  historians  as  the 
final  estimate  of  the  character  and  achievements  of  the 
Protector.  It  is  a  book  to  study,  a  book  to  enjoy,  a  book 
to  live."  In  his  prologue  Mr.  Morley  summarises  the 
ever  changing  estimate  of  Cromwell's  character  by  his 
biographers,  in  such  a  comprehensive,  yet  concise 
manner,  that  it  will  be  of  considerable  value  as  a  general 
guide  to  the  student  of  the  Protectorate. 

In  spite  of  the  great  flood  of  Napoleonic  literature, 
both  English  and  foreign,  that  has  issued  from  the  press, 
the  latest  contributor  (Lord  Rosebery)  asks  "  Will  there 


3O          CROMWELLIAN    AND    NAPOLEONIC   LITERATURE 

ever  be  an  adequate  life  of  Napoleon  ?  .  .  .  The  pages 
and  pages  that  follow  Napoleon's  name  in  library  cata- 
logues mainly  represent  compilations,  pamphlets,  or  lives 
conscientiously  constructed  out  of  dubious  or  inadequate 
materials."  If  this  be  so  it  is  the  colossal  genius  and  the 
magnetic  personality  of  the  '  Emperor '  that  renders  an 
adequate  life  by  one  man  impossible.  A  writer  in  the 
Quarterly  Review  for  January  (1901)  says  in  a  scholarly 
article  on  "The  Later  Years  of  Napoleon,"  "that  his 
genius  was  such  that  the  master  of  almost  any  profession 
may  study  it  with  profit.  The  soldier,  as  Moltke  has 
said,  who  understands  Napoleonic  strategy  has  nothing 
more  to  learn.  The  statesman  will  be  penetrated  with 
admiration  for  the  clearness  and  boldness  of  Napoleon's 
conceptions.  The  author  will  be  impressed  by  the  force 
and  fire  of  his  spoken  and  written  words.  .  .  The  philo- 
sopher will  watch  the  influence  of  a  meteoric  rise  to 
power,  and  as  meteoric  a  fall  upon  a  character  which  is 
not  the  less  fascinating  because  it  is  and  always  will  re- 
main something  of  a  enigma."  The  four  handsome 
quarto  volumes  containing  Professor  Sloane's  fascinating 
narrative  of  Buonaparte's  life,  would  be  considered  by 
the  casual  reader  to  be  surely  as  adequate  as  could  be, 
yet  that  life,  admirable  as  it  is  as  a  picture  of  the  boy- 
hood and  future  civil  life  of  the  'Emperor,'  is  weak  in 
the  narratives  of  the  Napoleonic  campaigns.  This  work, 
however,  is  the  fullest  that  has  yet  appeared  of  the 
general  biographies  in  the  English  language,  its  beauti- 
fully coloured  plates  being  especially  attractive.  The 
Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould's  work  is  more  a  study  of  Buona- 
parte's mind  and  character  than  a  general  biography, 
though  it  may  be  read  as  such.  The  life  by  W. 
O'Connor  Morris  in  the  Heroes  of  the  Nations  Series 


CROMWELLIAN    AND   NAPOLEONIC   LITERATURE          31 

is  excellently  adapted  for  popular  reading,  and  will  form 
a  useful  handbook  to  the  young  student  of  the  Napo- 
leonic period. 


OLIVER  CROMWELL :  A  BRIEF  SKETCH. 


THE  seventeenth  century  forms  one  of  the  most 
momentous  periods  in  English  history.  It  is  one 
long  record  of  dying  forces — forces  which  in  their  time 
moved  the  heart  of  the  nation,  but  from  which  the 
national  life  and  character  of  the  people  went  forward 
with  greatly  increased  strength  and  prestige.  With  the 
death  of  Elizabeth  in  1603,  died  mediaeval  England  ; 
with  the  execution  of  Charles  the  first,  in  1649,  arbitrary 
monarchy  was  brought  to  an  abrupt  close  ;  with  the 
death  of  Oliver,  the  Protector,  in  1658,  despotic  de- 
mocracy passed  away.  Then  the  Commonwealth  was 
followed  again  by  the  monarchy,  but  a  profligate  one, 
and  in  the  end  the  gallant  Stuart  kings  were  weighed 
in  the  balances,  found  wanting,  and  disappeared  for 
ever  from  the  English  throne.  With  the  accession  of 
William  and  Mary  the  English  constitution  put  on  a  garb 
which  it  has  worn,  with  little  change,  to  the  present  day. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  seventeenth  century 
presents,  on  the  whole,  a  somewhat  dark  and  tumultuous 
view  of  the  English  people.  But  on  looking  closer  it 
will  be  seen  that  during  one  brief  interval  (between  the 
reigns  of  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II.)  England  rose  to  the 
premier  position  among  all  the  nations  of  Europe.  Her 
commercial,  naval,  and  military  splendour ;  her  political, 
social,  and  religious  power,  moved  the  envy  and  admira- 
tion of  the  world.  There  were  many  causes,  which, 
combined,  placed  this  country  in  such  a  remarkable  posi- 
tion, but  the  chief  cause  was  the  concentration  of  all 
powers  of  government  in  the  hands  of  one  extraordinary 
man — Oliver  Cromwell. 


OLIVER    CROMWELL  33 

Born  on  the  25th  of  April,  1599,  at  Huntingdon, 
Oliver's  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  amid  surround- 
ings all  conducive  to  the  forming  of  a  Puritan  character. 
The  influences  he  was  brought  under  as  a  child  at  home 
would  lead  his  mind  in  that  direction.  His  education  up 
to  his  seventeenth  year  was  received  from  the  zealous 
Puritan,  Dr.  Thomas  Beard.  Sidney  Sussex  College, 
Cambridge,  where  he  was  admitted  on  the  23rd  April, 
1616,  was  one  of  the  colleges  complained  of  by  Arch- 
bishop Laud  as  a  nursery  of  Puritanism. 

And  this  early  religious  training  remained  with  him 
through  life,  growing  stronger  and  stronger  as  he  grew 
older.  After  his  marriage  in  1620,  when  he  settled  down 
to  the  quiet  life  of  a  gentleman  farmer  at  Huntingdon, 
the  only  uncontestable  facts  recorded  of  him  are  of  his 
spiritual  struggles  and  his  strenuous  support  of  the 
Puritan  cause.  So  high  indeed  were  his  religious  ideals, 
that  it  was  not  till  his  thirty  ninth  year  (1638)  that, 
in  his  own  words,  he  "  was  given  to  see  light." 

But  with  all  his  devotion  to  religion  and  the  Puritan 
cause,  it  is  difficult  to  picture  Cromwell  as  a  divine.  He 
was  distinctly  a  man  of  the  world — his  strength  lying 
rather  in  action  than  in  speech  or  debate.  All  his 
theories,  political  or  religious,  were  gained  from  experi- 
ence rather  than  from  books ;  from  realities  rather  than 
from  legal  or  theological  forms. 

In  1628  Cromwell,  now  in  his  twenty-ninth  year  was 
returned  to  Parliament  as  member  for  Huntingdon.  In 
this  most  eventful  Parliament  (when  that  great  title  deed 
of  England's  liberties — The  Petition  of  Right — was  in- 
sisted upon)  he  only  spoke  once,  and  his  remarks  on  that 
occasion  were  in  condemnation  of  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, who  had  countenanced  the  preaching  of' 'flat 

5 


34  OLIVER   CROMWELL  . 

popery."  From  this  time  up  to  1640  the  life  of  Cromwell 
is  comparatively  uneventful.  It  was,  however,  a  time  of 
preparation  for  his  future  work. 

In  his  quiet  home  at  Huntingdon  he  watched  the 
course  of  events,  and  we  can  imagine  how  his  wrath 
would  be  kindled  against  the  King,  as  he  saw  the  misery 
caused  by  his  despotic  rule,  both  in  Church  and  State. 
As  he  beheld  the  extreme  measures  of  Laud  in  the  Church, 
we  can  imagine  the  thought  of  freedom  of  worship  for 
all  religious  sects  arising  in  his  mind  and  taking  shape, 
until  it  became  part  of  his  religious  principles.  Crom- 
well was  opposed  to  all  kinds  of  narrowness  in  religious 
matters.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  those  Puritans  who 
would  not  tolerate  any  system  of  thought  and  practice 
which  was  unconformable  with  theirs.  "His  nature  was 
too  large,  and  his  character  too  strong,  to  allow  him  to 
associate  with  the  bigots  of  his  age.  It  was  sufficient  for 
him,  if  his  associates  found  inspiration  in  a  sense  of 
personal  dependence  upon  God  issuing  forth  in  good  and 
beneficent  deeds." l  When,  therefore,  Cromwell  entered 
the  Short  Parliament  and  also  the  Long  Parliament 
(1640)  as  Member  for  Cambridge  he  took  his  seat  as  one 
opposed  to  the  rule  of  Charles  I. 

Of  Oliver's  personal  appearance  at  this  time  we  have 
an  interesting  account  from  a  young  courtier.  "  I  came 
into  the  House,"  one  morning  says  Sir  Philip  Warwick, 
and  perceived  a  gentleman  speaking  whom  I  knew  not, 
very  ordinarily  apparelled,  his  linen  was  plain,  and  not 
very  clean.  His  hat  was  without  a  hat-band.  His 
stature  was  of  a  good  size ;  his  face  was  swollen  and 
reddish  ;  his  voice  sharp  and  untuneable ;  and  his 
eloquence  full  of  fervour." 

1  Gardiner's  Oliver  Cromwell,  1899. 


A    BRIEF   SKETCH  35 

In  the  short  space  of  two  years  (1640-42)  Cromwell 
became  one  of  the  most  influential  Members  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  Though  devoting  himself  to  a 
great  extent  to  religious  matters,  attacking,  upon  every 
opportunity,  the  system  of  Church  government  set  up  by 
Laud,  he  by  no  means  neglected  the  political  situation, 
but  was  one  of  the  fiercest  opponents  of  the  King's  un- 
constitutional methods  of  government.  So  much  did  he 
feel  the  necessity  for  strong  action  being  taken  against 
the  King,  that  he  is  said  to  have  determined  never  to 
see  England  any  more  if  the  "  Grand  Remonstrance  " 
was  rejected  by  the  Commons.  That  great  measure, 
however,  was  passed,  and  England  retained  one  of  the 
greatest  champions  of  its  liberties. 

When  war  broke  out  in  1642,  Cromwell  threw  himself 
into  the  struggle  with  all  his  characteristic  energy.  It  is 
unnecessary  here,  however,  to  relate  in  detail  the  remark- 
able military  life  of  Cromwell ;  how  he  raised  his  un- 
conquerable "  Ironsides"  of  men  "who  feared  God,  and 
would  make  a  conscience  of  what  they  did,"  and  turned 
the  probable  defeats  of  Marston  Moor  (1644)  and 
Naseby  (1646)  into  such  decisive  victories  for  the 
Parliament,  as  to  crush  for  a  considerable  time  the 
Royalist  cause  ;  how,  when  the  Scots  rose  up  against  the 
Parliament  in  1648,  he  crushed  their  fine  invading  army 
under  Hamilton,  at  Preston  and  Wigan,  and  marched 
triumphant  into  Scotland  ;  how,  after  the  execution  of  the 
King  (1649),  he  passed  over  into  Ireland  and  stamped  out 
the  insurrection  there  ;  how,  on  his  return  from  Ireland  he 
was  called  upon  to  take  the  field  against  the  Scots,  and  was 
enabled  at  Dunbar  to  achieve  his  most  wonderful  victory  ; 
or  how,  exactly  twelve  months  later,  he  utterly  crushed  the 
Royalist  cause  at  the  battle  of  Worcester,  (1651). 


36  OLIVER   CROMWELL  : 

Though  Cromwell  by  his  military  exploits  has  a 
place  amongst  the  world's  greatest  generals  he  was  pre- 
eminently a  man  of  peace.  All  his  speeches  in  the 
House  of  Commons  relating  to  the  war  show  that  he 
was  only  in  favour  of  war  when  he  was  convinced  that  it 
was  the  only  means  of  securing  permanent  peace  and 
happiness  for  his  countrymen.  If  Charles  had  given 
way  to  the  demands  made  by  the  Commons  in  the 
"  Grand  Remonstrance,"  there  would  have  been  no  war 
and  Cromwell  would  never  have  taken  up  his  sword 
against  him  ;  and  again  :  if  the  King  had  accepted  the 
proposals  of  the  army  (between  1646-48),  which  would 
have  placed  him  in  a  no  less  regal  position  in  the 
English  Constitution  than  Queen  j Victoria  holds  to-day, 
Cromwell  would  never  have  consented  to  his  execution. 
It  was  the  King's  duplicity  and  treachery,  whilst  the 
army  was  in  its  most  conciliatory  attitude  towards  him, 
that  caused  Cromwell  to  become  anxious  for  his  removal ; 
to  sit  on  the  council  that  tried  him  ;  and  to  be  one  of  the 
first  to  sign  his  death-warrant  (1649). 

While  Cromwell  laid  aside  his  sword  after  Worcester 
(1651)  he  was  the  foremost  man  in  the  nation.  As  the 
head  of  an  admiring  army  (which  was  now  a  social  as 
well  as  a  military  power)  he  was  virtually  the  dictator  of 
the  realm.  He  did  not,  however,  employ  this  power  he 
had  gained  to  further  any  selfish  ambition,  but  used  it  to 
promote  the  best  interests  of  the  State.  For  nineteen 
months  he  laboured  assiduously  without  on  any  occasion 
bringing  himself  conspicuously  before  the  nation.  As 
usual,he  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  religious  matters, 
defending  religious  liberty  against  those  who  had  formerly 
constituted  themselves  its  champions.  When  John  Owen, 
the  foremost  Independent  of  the  day,  wished  to  draw  up 


A   BRIEF    SKETCH  37 

fifteen  fundamental  principles  which  no  one  was  to  be 
permitted  to  deny,  Cromwell  intervened  and  said :  "  I 
had  rather  Mahometism  was  permitted  among  us  than 
that  one  of  God's  children  be  persecuted."  These 
opinions  were  not  popular  ;  to  many  the  toleration  for 
which  Cromwell  appealed  was  nothing  short  of  licence, 
which,  if  granted  would  result  in  anarchy,  rendering  the 
last  state  of  the  country  worse  than  the  first. 

Cromwell,  however,  had  no  doubts.  His  conviction 
had  been  of  gradual  growth  and  the  result  of  experience 
with  divers  classes  of  men  holding  divers  religious  views. 
In  1644  Cromwell  defending  an  anabaptist  against  Major 
General  Crawford  said :  "  Admit  he  be,  shall  that 
render  him  incapable  to  serve  the  public  ?  Sir,  the 
State  in  choosing  men  to  serve  it,  takes  no  notice  of  their 
opinions  ;  if  they  be  willing  faithfully  to  serve  it,  that 
satisfies."  After  Naseby  a  year  later  he  wrote  remind- 
ing Parliament  :  "  Honest  men  served  you  faithfully  in 
this  action  ;  I  beseech  you  not  to  discourage  them.  He 
that  ventures  his  life  for  the  liberty  of  his  country,  I 
wish  he  trust  God  for  the  liberty  of  his  conscience  and  you 
for  the  liberty  he  fights  for."  Again,  after  the  surrender 
of  Bristol  in  1645  he  wrote  :  "  Being  united  in  forms 
commonly  called  uniformity,  every  Christian  will  for 
peace  sake  study,  and  do  as  far  as  conscience  will  permit. 
...  In  things  of  the  mind  we  look  for  no  compulsion  but 
that  of  light  and  reason."  It  was  this  unwavering 
attitude  which  evokes  the  well-known  poetic  eulogy  of 
Milton  : — 

"  Cromwell,  our  chief  of  men,  who  through  a  cloud 
Not  of  war  only,  but  distractions  rude, 
Guided  by  faith  and  matchless  fortitude, 
To  peace  and  truth  thy  glorious  way  hast  ploughed 


38  OLIVER   CROMWELL  : 

And  on  the  neck  of  crowned  fortune  proud 
Has  reared  God's  trophies^  and  his  work  pursued, 
While  Darwen  stream  with  blood  of  Scots  imbrued 
And  Dunbar  field  resound  thy  praises  loud 

And  Worcester's  laureate  wreath :  yet  much  remains 
To  conquer  still ;  Peace  hath  her  victories 
No  less  renowned  than  War :  new  foes  arise 

Threatening  to  bind  our  souls  with  secular  chains^ 
Help  us  to  save  free  conscience  from  the  paw 
Of  hireling  wolves^  whose  Gospel  is  their  maw." 

But  all  this  time  Cromwell  watched  anxiously  the 
course  Parliament  was  taking.  Instead  of  healing  the 
sores  caused  by  the  war,  it  debated  for  months  bills  whose 
aims  were  simply  the  perpetuation  of  their  own  power. 
This  was  the  reason  why  Cromwell  turned  out  the  Parlia- 
ment (in  a  too  violent  manner  one  must  admit)  and  not 
that  he  might  become  supreme  head  of  the  State  with  all 
political  power  vested  in  his  hands.  Although  by  this 
unprecedented  act  supreme  power  did  fall  to  Cromwell, 
he  did  not  retain  that  power.  It  was  not  until  a  Council 
of  State  had  been  formed  and  a  Parliament  called  and 
dismissed  that  he  assumed  the  title  of  Lord  Protector  of 
the  British  Commonwealth  (Dec.  16,  1653). 

The  Protectorship  of  Oliver  Cromwell  was  the  greatest 
phase  in  his  career.  As  a  politician  we  recognise  him  as 
one  active  in  voicing  his  countrymen's  grievances ;  as  a 
soldier  we  hail  him  as  one  of  the  most  accomplished  in 
history ;  and  as  a  ruler  we  acknowledge  him  as  one  equal 
in  ability  to  any  monarch  or  statesman.  During  the  five 
years  of  his  rule,  Oliver  raised  England  from  being  the 
weakest  power  in  Europe  to  the  foremost  nation  in  the 
world.  That  part  of  his  home  policy  which  he  will  always 
be  honoured  for,  is  his  policy  in  matters  of  religion. 
Ever  the  earnest  advocate  of  the  rights  of  conscience, 


A   BRIEF   SKETCH  39 

he  tolerated  all  sects,  so  long  as  they  meddled  not  to  dis- 
turb the  State.  Popery  and  prelacy  he  prescribed  on 
grounds  political  rather  than  religious ;  to  the  adherents 
of  both  he  showed  private  lenity.  He  desired  and 
earnestly  attempted  to  extend  the  rights  of  citizenship  to 
the  outcast  and  persecuted  Jews. 

Cromwell's  foreign  policy,  however,  brought  him  most 
renown.  Under  him  the  Commonwealth  became  the 
head  and  protectress  of  Protestant  Europe.  He  made 
peace  with  Holland  and  tried  to  form  a  league  of  all  the 
Protestant  States.  He  protected  the  Waldenses  of  Pied- 
mont against  the  persecutors,  using  the  pen  of  Milton  in 
his  protest.  The  victories  gained  by  his  fleet  under 
Blake  brought  him  at  once  glory  and  treasure.  He 
sedulously  fostered  British  commerce  and  by  the  hand  of 
Blake  chastised  the  pirate  States  of  Barbary. 

Cromwell's  boast  that  he  would  make  the  name  of 
Englishmen  as  respected  as  that  of  Roman  had  been, 
was,  so  long  as  he  ruled,  fulfilled.  His  bitterest  enemies 
could  not  deny  the  impression  he  made  on  the  world,  and 
the  height  to  which  he  raised  his  country. 

Just  when  the  Government  however,  was  striking  root, 
and  people  of  rank  were  beginning  to  ally  themselves 
with  it,  disease  and  care,  together  with  grief  at  the  death 
of  his  favourite  daughter,  Elizabeth  Claypole,  cut  short 
his  life.  Oliver  Cromwell  passed  away  quietly  on  the 
3rd  of  September,  1659,  the  anniversary  day  of  his  great 
triumphs  of  Dunbar  and  Worcester. 

Though  Cromwell  has  passed  away  he  is  not  forgotten. 
His  work  still  lives.  His  principles  of  political  and 
religious  government  are  to  a  great  extent  the  principles 
of  political  and  religious  government  to-day.  He  is  the 
connecting  link  between  the  old  order  of  English  society 


> 

4O  OLIVER   CROMWELL 

and  the  new.  He  did  away  with  arbitrary  monarchy  and 
religion  based  principally  on  dogma,  and  in  their  place 
gave  us  liberty  of  conscience  and  a  monarchy  whose 
position  is  to  serve  the  State  or  go. 


I 


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